As millions of students head back to school this fall, many will undoubtedly tell of their summer adventures. From road trips and flights across the country to quiet times reading or exploring their own neighborhoods, kids often have something to share about their time away from school. In step with this tradition, niche publisher, My Family! releases a vibrant new tale, Keesha’s South African Adventure, a one-of-a-kind story with striking art that features a curious youngster and her two fabulous moms.

Keesha learns about South Africa during school and becomes so fascinated she convinces her two moms to take her there so she can see it for herself! The trio takes off for a trip across the Atlantic Ocean and bring readers along as they spend seven days in the diverse country. Unlike any other children’s book currently on the market, Keesha’s South African Adventure highlights the kind of family that is often omitted from mainstream travel depictions. It is sure to open the imaginations of children, parents and educators alike.

“I am extremely excited about this book,” says co-author Cheril N. Clarke. “We are bringing back our pioneer characters with a vibrant new look and expanded depth. Those familiar with Keesha and her two moms will notice that we aged Keesha a little bit. We did this so that we could have more room to tell a story for older children,” she added. Clarke authored the book with her wife and business partner, Monica Bey-Clarke.

“We know that reading expands the horizons of young people and hope this story will inspire curiosity and exploration,” adds Monica.

This exciting new book reinforces how much learning about new people, places and things can broaden a child’s imagination and open them up to exploring the world around them. Keesha’s South African Adventure is a daring story that showcases a modern family on a fantastic vacation that Keesha is proud to tell her teacher and classmates about.

Just a quick update to say thank-you to all who have purchased our books of covered us in the media over the last couple of weeks. We are humbled by the support of the community and hope things continue in this manner. Striving to build a large, multi-cultural library that features LGBT families was no small undertaking but day by day, we get a bit closer to realizing that dream. Last month we released two new titles for Jewish families, Adopting Ahava and The Wonderful Adventures of Benjamin and Solomon, which were our first exclusive books for this demographic. The support has been amazing! In the last week we have shipped books to Italy, France and Israel! So again, thank you very much. The best is yet to come!

The following press release is for some of my latest work with Monica for our children’s books line:

Chances are if you’re a gay or lesbian Jewish couple, you will be hard-pressed to find books that reflect your family—especially children’s stories and young adult fiction. You may find two or three titles if you’re lucky, but certainly not much more. This holiday season LGBT publisher My Family! is introducing two new history-making books that will accelerate the process of building a virtuous library (and legacy) for Jewish LGBT families.

The first of the two books being released is “The Wonderful Adventures of Benjamin and Solomon,” a tale of two scholars who get more adventure on one snowy night than they could dream of. Set in medieval Europe, this fairytale is penned by new author, Elena Yakubsfeld of Greenwich, CT. This book is for young adults.

“Benjamin and Solomon are not just students,” says publisher Cheril Bey-Clarke. “They are two young men whose intimate love for each other is as strong as any other couple. On their quest to recover a stolen prayer they trek through a magical forest, encounter dragons and confront angry knights in a towering castle. They are essentially gay, Jewish heroes and quite frankly there is no other story like this. We’re thrilled to work with the author to bring it to the community!” Accented with lively illustrations and playful dialog, this title explores Jewish history, devotion to God, and non-traditional ideas of family.

The second title being released is a picture book for younger readers entitled “Adopting Ahava.” It is a charming story of a boy named Jonathan who wants nothing more for his eighth birthday than to adopt a puppy. But after looking at all the cute, squirming tail-waggers with his mamas, Jonathan makes an unexpected choice. “Adopting Ahava” was written by Jennifer Byrne, who resides in Glassboro, NJ. “This is an adorable story about a beautiful family that radiates love and respect,” says publisher Monica Bey-Clarke.

Both titles aim to encourage childhood literacy, provoke thought, build self-esteem and help to reinforce morality already taught in the home. They are available for 25% off the retail price of $9.99 now through December 6 at http://www.MyFamilyProducts.net. (Use promo code: jcpr13.) Free shipping and handling in the United States.

A new children published by, My Family!, (founded by my wife and me:).

This playful book is written in rhythmic verse and is intended to be read aloud to babies – pre-schoolers. While engaging them in hide-and-seek fashion (children are challenged to find the hidden mice on each page), the story celebrates the differences in family structures and reminds us that we all share one thing in common: Love.

Please visit our children’s book website for more details on this adorable title by South African author, Claudia Eicker-Harris.

I am tremendously excited to publish the link to a commercial produced by and for My Family! a company launched by my wife and me last summer to centralize media and entertainment for children of LGBT parents (and allies). Below is the one-of-a-kind, multi-cultural ad spot that will run on cable television in the coming months. The video highlights just a few of the many LGBT children’s books, music and DVDs that we offer (more variety in products coming soon)!

Tune in from 7:00PM-9:00PM tonight on Philadelphia’s 88.1 WPEB to hear me chat with the host of “Freedom Readers,” Rhone Fraser. This will be my second time in the studio with this extremely thoughtful host and I’m looking forward to the experience. If you’re in the area please do tune in and feel free to call in with your opinions.

We will be discussing the publication of MyFamily! Books for social change/justice as well as the portrayal of loving LGBT-headed families of color in America.

It is with EXTREME joy that I write this blog post today! For the last month my wife, Monica Bey-Clarke, and I have been working with a very talented team of web designers, illustrators, programmers and graphic designers to produce the start of what we intend to be a company that features a wide array of multi-cultural products for children of LGBT parents.

www.MyFamilyProducts.net is a new storefront that will feature books, toys, clothing and educational games for children as well as fun items for pets!

Please click here to take a look and view our flagship title, Keesha & Her Two Moms Go Swimming, a good-natured story that promotes the normalcy of every-day life in LGBT families. Pre-schoolers will recognize themselves in little Keesha as she aims to be a good girl and share her toys when other kids refuse.

Coming this fall will be a book for older children entitled, The Lopez Family: Science Fair Day, which will also be available in Spanish.

We really hope you enjoy what you see and embrace our vision. Please feel free to share/like this link across all of your social networking sites and “Like” us on Facebook. We are eager to hear your responses. Thanks so much!